The Statue of Liberty's torch heads to new museum

Made of copper and gold so that it would shine bright, the first torch took a beating from the weather and was replaced by a replica in 1984. It's been stored in the statue's pedestal ever since.

But visitors will be able to see the original 3,600-pound torch in all its glory at a new Statue of Liberty Museum, which will open on Liberty Island in May 2019. The torch was transported there by truck last week, along with a replica model of Lady Liberty's face.

"Although it is not one of the most difficult things we have ever moved," says Douglas Phelps, who oversaw the relocation of the torch, "it is certainly the most important."

Her full name is Liberty Enlightening the World, and she was designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel -- yes, the same guy who built Paris's Eiffel Tower.

Lady Liberty was a gift from France to the United States to celebrate the centennial of their nation's independence -- although, somewhat awkwardly, she arrived a decade too late. Nevertheless, President Grover Cleveland formally unveiled her in 1886.